Improvements in shoes with vulcanized soles



March 27, 1962 H. BINDER ETAL 3,026,637

IMPROVEMENTS 1N SHOES WITH VULCNIZED SOLES Filed Dec. 29, 1959 FigiUnited States atent 3,026,637 IMPROVEMENTS IN WITH VULCANIZED L HermannBinder, Tuttlingen, and Egon Friedrich, Wurmlingen, Kreis Tuttlingen,Germany, assignors to Rieker & Co., Tuttlingen, Wurttemberg, Germany, afirm Filed Dec. 29, 1959, Ser. No. 862,644 Claims priority, applicationGermany Jan. 17, 1959 1 Claim. (Cl. 36--14) The present inventionrelates to improvements in the production of articles of footwear, andmore particularly to improvements in shoes of the type having avulcanized sole. For example, a shoe of this type is disclosed in ourcopending application Serial No. 862,710, filed December 29, 1959.

An important object of the invention is to provide a shoe with avulcanized sole which is constructed and assembled in such a way thatthe sole is safely secured to the layers in contact therewith,particularly in that zone which is subjected to maximum stresses whenthe shoe is in actual use.

An essential requirement in the production of shoes with vulcanizedsoles, i.e. outsoles or intermediate soles, is that the vulcanizedmaterial should rmly adhere to the parts in contact therewith, andparticularly that the edge portion of the vulcanized sole should notbecome loose in actual use of the shoe. It was already proposed to-apply to the edge portion of the shoe upper a welt of chrome leather towhich the outsole or the intermediate sole is vulcanized in the usualway. However, a fullsized welt adds to the cost of the shoe andnecessitates the expenditure of more time in the manufacture of sucharticles of footwear.

Accordingly, it is another object of the invention to provide a shoewith a vulcanized outsole or intermediate sole but without a welt inwhich the connection between the vulcanized sole and the layers incontact therewith is as satisfactory as if the shoe were provided with afullsized welt.

With the above objects in view, the invention resides in the provisionof a shoe which embodies a so-called toe plate secured to the insole andto the inwardly deected edge portion of the shoe upper beneath the toereceiving space of the shoe, this toe plate having an edge portionprojecting beyond the outlines of the front portion of the `shoe upperand formed with a plurality of spaced perforations in its edge portionfor reception of the vulcanized material so as to insure properadherence of the vulcanized sole to the toe plate. Similar perforationsare provided in the rear portion of the insole so that the vulcanized:sole is caused to adhere strongly to and cannot be separated from theexposed portion of the underside of the insole. The material of thevulcanized sole which is received in the perforations of the toe plateinsures satisfactory connection of the sole in that zone of the shoewhich is subjected to maximum stresses and, in addition, the projectingedge portion of the toe plate improves the appearance of the shoebecause the latter seems to have a Welt about its front portion.

The toe plate consists of chrome leather or a suitable synthetic plasticmaterial.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claim. Theinvention itself, however, -both as to its construction and its methodof operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof,will be best understood from the following detailed description of aspecific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

v adhesive.

3,026,637 Patented Mar. 27, 1962 ice FIG. l is a fragmentary sideelevational view of an article of footwear embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section through the article of footwear as seenin the direction of arrows from the line B-B of FIG. l; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken along the line A--A of FIG. l, asseen in the direction of arrows.

Referring now in greater detail to the illustrated ernbodiment, there isshown an article of footwear in the form of a shoe comprising an upperwhich includes an outer layer or vamp l and an inner layer or lining 2,the edge portion 3 of this upper 1, 2 being deflected downwardly beneathand connected to the edge portion of the insole 4, as by chain stitching5, known as McKay stitching, which may be replaced by tacks or by asuitable The front portion of the insole 4 which is located beneath thefront portion of the shoe upper 1, 2 and which defines with the latter atoe receiving space is connected to a toe plate 7 whose edge portionprojects beyond the outlines of the front portion of the upper 1, 2 asis shown in FIGS. l and 2. The toe plate 7 consists of chrome leather orof a synthetic plastic material. FIG. 2 shows that the toe plate 7 isconnected to the insole i and to the inwardly deflected edge portion 3of the upper 1, 2 by means of stitches S which extend through each ofthe four layers 1, 2, 4 and 7.

The outwardly projecting edge portion of the toe plate 7 is formed witha .series of spaced perforations 9, and similar perforations 1d areprovided in the rear portion of the insole 4, i.e. rearwardly of the toeplate. These perforations 9 and `10 receive and are 'filled with thematerial of the sole 6 which is vulcanized to the toe plate 7 and to therear portion of the insole 4 so that the material of the sole `6 fillingthe perforations 9, 10 insures proper adherence of the sole to theremaining components of the shoe.

It will be seen that the improved shoe does not embody a welt butcomprises only a comparatively small toe plate 7 this brings aboutconsiderable savings in material as well as savings in man hours becausethe fastening of a full-sized welt requires more time and work than thefastening of a comparatively small toe plate. Furthermore, the provisionof perforations 9, lit insures a safe connection of various layers inthat part of an article of footwear which is subjected to maximumstresses in actual use.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic and specic aspects of this invention and,therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehendedwithin the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claim.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

ln an article of footwear, in combination, an insole having a frontportion and an underside; an upper having an edge portion overlappingand extending along the underside of said insole; a toe plate adjacentto the underside and extending along the front portion of said insole,said toe plate having an edge portion extending beyond the outlines ofsaid upper and formed with perforations in said edge portion thereof;stitch means provided inwardly of the edge portion of the toe plate forconnecting said toe plate to said insole and to the edge portion of saidupper; and a sole of vulcanizable material connected to said insole andto said toe plate, the material of said sole filling the perforations ofsaid toe plate to prevent separation of the sole from the edge portionof the toe plate.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS SorensenFeb. 16, 1926 Gilkerson May 26, 1931 Game Aug. 15, 1933 Vicente Nov. 28,1933 Smith Mar. 18, 1941 Stritter July 25, 1944 Morein June 17, 1947

